a little inspiration

You: :Are smiling in recognition now.  I rolled over in bed the other morning when you woke up and you gave me the biggest smile. :Adore your big brother.  He gets lots of smiles and even some giggles. :Are starting to laugh but really reserve it.  You seem more reserved than your brother was. :Just went through an upper lip and tongue tie revision.  It was hard but you are nursing better and having fewer hiccups already. :Have been grabbing things.  I found you with your blanket held in each hand inspecting it the other day. :Make the cutest bubbles and are starting drool more. :Stay up and engaged longer. :Still have the ever changing eyes. :Sleep wonderfully at night and during the day in the car seat or Dolcino. :Are starting to bat at the toys hanging on your floor gym. :Are super snugly.  All the ladies working at the Y want to hold you while I take classes. :Have the most calm and curious temperament so far. :Seem to be...

You: :Are so bright it hurts sometimes.  The endless why's and how's often leave us stumped or frustrated, but we know it is because you are working out how every. little. thing. works in this world. :Love and adore your baby sister.  You are an amazing big brother to her and she loves you to the stars and back again. :Have a fantastic imagination.  I hear you while you play of on your own making up the best stories. :You are obsessed with eating (and being eaten) and guns and swords and shooting swords right now. :Love having bedtime with Papa, reading or making up stories and getting your squeezing massage. :Argue just about everything.  Even when you get your way. :Love playing with the kids on our street and having wild adventures with them. :Still eat applesauce and yogurt and powder just about every day. :Sometimes wish we'd go back to Baltimore so you could play with your old friends. :Are making tons of new friends here.  I am...

We all made it through the procedure on Monday morning.  I will not was that it was easy.  I do feel very strongly that it was the right choice.  Dr Hahn did also find a posterior tongue tie so we had both the lip and tongue lasered.   Papa held her while they did it and I was glad.  Afterwards she nursed and went to sleep pretty fast.  I was a shaky mess.  It was a lot uglier to watch than I expected as they had to go pretty deep.  I've had surgery in my own mouth a couple times, but I had never watched .  Emerson has had several mouth/lip traumas in his short life which have been hard, but nothing like taking a happy baby and holding her still through something that hurts. Anyway, she is doing really well now and has been smiling and very much like herself since the evening afterwards.  Nursing is better already and I am betting with time will get even better. Here she is wearing pants I made after seeing this post. ...

Hectic- things here are hectic.  The last few weeks I have felt like I am running from one (small) parenting crisis to another.  Losing your kid twice on one week makes for not feeling stellar about yourself.  (At least I didn't misplace the baby too, right?  Right!?)  These days E keeps us dancing.  Each time we feel like progress has been made he pulls the rug out from under us. People said that kids will keep you on your toes but, whew, I had no idea. Every day we evolve new strategies.  Many days feel "by the skin of the teeth."  Thank goodness this baby is a piece of cake.  Here's hoping she follows his pattern and doesn't start making me nuts until after he starts school! As for her- have a I mentioned she has an upper lip tie ?  And maybe a posterior tongue tie?  This basically means that nursing has been difficult and uncomfortable since day one.  We have been extremely lucky that it hasn't ef...

~Emerson was picked up by a police officer and brought home earlier this week.  He had been following a rabbit and wandered away from the house.  I was in my car looking for him when I saw the police officer. ~We scheduled a lip revision for the wolf baby.  Monday after next we'll be going through that.  I hope it helps!  We've had a rocky breastfeeding relationship so far. ~I've been worn out with the constant arguing with E.  I hear it is normal for this age but I don't know how long I will hold out with it.  I feel like the there is a bit of confusion about who is the adult and who is the child.  Which seems weird, because I am not permissive, but he is sooo dominant.  Anyway, I'm tired of it and my patience is short.  Not my most stellar parenting lately. (He is actually arguing with John as I type this.) ~I really need to be getting things ready for his party.  It is going to be so fun! ~Moriah got us all a membership...

This is my 500th post.  I've been writing and sharing here for 5 years.  I've tried many new things, had some success and failure.  I've made a couple babies, lost a few pets and moved.  It has been a wonderful time.  I want to thank you for coming along!  I love that this serves as a true online journal for me and I can look back and see the evolution and the bits that have stayed the same. One thing, which I find mind blowing this morning, is that I have been a full time stay at home mom for nearly 4 years now.  It is true, I tried a few months of part time work, but it wasn't worth it in the end.  And that is really saying something.  I have never had a single job for more than a couple years.  And I liked this job so much that I wanted to do it again.  I have never in my life been as fulfilled, frustrated, drained and energized by a job.  Everything else I ever did was just for a paycheck.  I went to work just ...